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30DoW: Day 27
Aug. 27th, 2010 06:43 pm27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
Ooh, I should be able to ramble about this one easily.
Yes and no. Done.
...
Fine, I lie.
Appearances do play a role, but I've learned not to make them a big role, if that makes any sense. It used to be that, when I wrote out character profiles, I'd really go into the physical appearance of the character; ethnicity, skin shade, hair color, hair length, body of hair, eye color, tattoos, scars, height, weight, muscle tone, bone structure, birth marks, general clothing style, I'd go whole hog. And then I'd stupidly try to impress all that into my work and onto the reader.
I'd like to think I wrote it in a compelling manner, but I hang my head to think of what it really came out to be. This was when I was first getting into writing more heartedly, so I really wanted my reader to know exactly what my character looked like to me. I wasn't big on letting the reader imagine for themselves what a person looked like, unless they were imagining it along my very specific lines.
Luckily, I got better. Often times now, I'll forgo physical description all together and just use narrative voice to give any impression if there is one (it's how the Noir story got a female lead). I know I've gotten more subtle about putting description into my work, and letting the reader do their own thing. The only times I'll really lay it on thick is when I want a bigger impact from what is being seen. But I generally let hints and few quick sentences carry the weight.
As to how I go about designing my characters, the process for that has changed since I started. It used to be I'd write out a full profile, with all the afore mentioned details and then some. When I could, I'd get a friend to draw the character out. But mostly it was all about making them different. OCs I came up with were always about sticking out. Because when I started I was big into fandoms, and everyone had characters related to that universe, I tried to make mine (and I always had multiples) different from the norm. I also tried to have a reason for such differences, and tired to make sure that the differences weren't unbelievable, but still I wanted to stick out.
I have/had my own share of self-inserts, but never did they ever really interact with canon characters; it was more about having fun in the created world than putting my/ourselves next to the heroes.
Nowadays, I go for interesting but not unusual. A pretty character is going to turn heads, but he/she isn't going to command a whole room the very moment he/she walks in. A scary one (usually) isn't going to make you pee your pants until right before they reveal themselves. I've moved away from needing my characters to have their appearance do all the work, and now enjoy playing with perceptions, both the readers, the main characters, and the minor ones.
Ooh, I should be able to ramble about this one easily.
Yes and no. Done.
...
Fine, I lie.
Appearances do play a role, but I've learned not to make them a big role, if that makes any sense. It used to be that, when I wrote out character profiles, I'd really go into the physical appearance of the character; ethnicity, skin shade, hair color, hair length, body of hair, eye color, tattoos, scars, height, weight, muscle tone, bone structure, birth marks, general clothing style, I'd go whole hog. And then I'd stupidly try to impress all that into my work and onto the reader.
I'd like to think I wrote it in a compelling manner, but I hang my head to think of what it really came out to be. This was when I was first getting into writing more heartedly, so I really wanted my reader to know exactly what my character looked like to me. I wasn't big on letting the reader imagine for themselves what a person looked like, unless they were imagining it along my very specific lines.
Luckily, I got better. Often times now, I'll forgo physical description all together and just use narrative voice to give any impression if there is one (it's how the Noir story got a female lead). I know I've gotten more subtle about putting description into my work, and letting the reader do their own thing. The only times I'll really lay it on thick is when I want a bigger impact from what is being seen. But I generally let hints and few quick sentences carry the weight.
As to how I go about designing my characters, the process for that has changed since I started. It used to be I'd write out a full profile, with all the afore mentioned details and then some. When I could, I'd get a friend to draw the character out. But mostly it was all about making them different. OCs I came up with were always about sticking out. Because when I started I was big into fandoms, and everyone had characters related to that universe, I tried to make mine (and I always had multiples) different from the norm. I also tried to have a reason for such differences, and tired to make sure that the differences weren't unbelievable, but still I wanted to stick out.
I have/had my own share of self-inserts, but never did they ever really interact with canon characters; it was more about having fun in the created world than putting my/ourselves next to the heroes.
Nowadays, I go for interesting but not unusual. A pretty character is going to turn heads, but he/she isn't going to command a whole room the very moment he/she walks in. A scary one (usually) isn't going to make you pee your pants until right before they reveal themselves. I've moved away from needing my characters to have their appearance do all the work, and now enjoy playing with perceptions, both the readers, the main characters, and the minor ones.